Loss-making
PSUs: more heads
may rollChandigarh, June 14Inspite of protest by employees, the Haryana Government is, apparently, in no mood to end its drive to rationalise the staff strength in loss-making public-sector undertakings. At a meeting recently, the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had himself suggested disbanding of the Seed Development Corporation Ltd and assign its work to Hisar Agricultural University.

Anti- encroachment drive beginsYamunanagar, June 14
Ms Gurmeet Kaur, District Country and Town Planning Officer, along with senior officials of Yamunanagar and a large police contingent began the anti-encroachment drive at Udham Nagar near the Chhachhrauli Road at Jagadhri today.

Stories from Haryana towns falling in the
National Capital Region are put in NCR Tribune.

BJP panel to hold meeting at
PanchkulaRohtak, June 14
The state Executive Committee of the BJP, Haryana, will meet at Panchkula on June 28 and 29 to review the political situation in Haryana and chalk-out strategies to regain the ground lost by it due to the coalition dharma with the ruling INLD. The honeymoon with the INLD appears to be over and at the end of it the BJP finds itself pushed to a corner.

Poor excluded from
PDS: KaratFatehabad, June 14
The All India Democratic Women’s Association general secretary, Ms Brinda Karat, said today that the
targeting system of public distribution’ was a total failure and showed the bankruptcy of the
government. Ms Karat was here in connection with the AIDWA campaign on the food and public distribution system.

Loss-making
PSUs: more heads may rollShubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 14
Inspite of protest by employees, the Haryana Government is, apparently, in no mood to end its drive to rationalise the staff strength in loss-making public-sector undertakings. At a meeting recently, the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had himself suggested disbanding of the Seed Development Corporation Ltd
(SDCL) and assign its work to Hisar Agricultural University.

The proceedings of the meeting, including the CM’s suggestion, would be put up for further directives, a source here said. The move could take a concrete shape only after a proposal was drawn up for this purpose. Preparing the proposal itself would be a tough assignment, since the SDCL also sold seed through its outlets — a job which could not be assigned to the
HAU. It is also not clear yet whether the government will retrench the existing SDCL staff or accommodate it in other departments in case the corporation is disbanded.

The staff had not been the only one affected by the government’s move to prune its expenditure. While chairmen of two corporations recently lost their jobs, at least two more are believed to be in the firing line.

The state government recently removed Mr Inder Singh Dhull and Mr Ashok Verma as heads of Haryana Agro-Industries Corporation and Haryana Land Reclaimation and Development Corporation (HLRDC), respectively. Mr K.S. Bhoria, Financial Commissioner Agriculture, has been made Chairman of both corporations.

The government is also going ahead with its move to bring three other corporations — Women Development Corporation, Haryana Backward Classes Kalyan Nigam and Haryana Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation — under a single administrative set-up. A key state government official told the TNS that the government would carry out the move as soon as some legal issues were sorted out. There will be one MD and one chairman for these corporations once the government implements its plan.

This move, it is believed, may create ripples in the ruling party, as the Chairman of the Haryana Backward Classes Kalyan Nigam, Mr Ramesh Kumar Khatak, is an INLD legislator, while Mr Amar Singh Dhanday, Chairman of the Haryana Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, is also a ruling-party MLA. Mr Vimla Sangwan, sister-in-law of the Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, is heading the Women Development Corporation.

Unlike Mr
Dhanday, Mr Khatak and Ms Sangwan, Mr Dhull and Mr Verma were political lightweights and their removal would not create any problem for the government.

Karnal, June 14
Swami Nischala Nand Saraswati, the Shankracharya of Puri Peeth, said today that the courts should not sit over the judgement of the Ram Janambhoomi Temple construction issue. He maintained that any judgement by the court over the sensitive issue would inflame the matter and would not solve the issue to “the satisfaction of the two parties to the dispute.”

The Shankracharya was addressing a press conference at the residence of Mr R.N. Vasudeva, a retired IGP (Haryana), in Model Town. Swami Nischala Nand is on a two-day visit to the city. Reacting to the move of the Shankracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Swami Jayendra Saraswati, the Puri Shankracharya said all Shankracharyas stood for an amicable and peaceful solution of the dispute.

The Shankracharya who delvedup on numerous issues confronting the country asked the political parties to rise above “personal party politics” to solve these problems. He regretted that politics was becoming a trade with each passing day. This trend was posing the biggest danger to the country’s political system and its stability.

Swami Nischala Nand defended the age old caste system in the country which was based on providing basic jobs to the people at the village level to earn their livelihood. The caste system was based on professional talents of each caste. It also protected the economic interests of each caste, he maintained.

The Shankracharya eulogised the liberalism and catholicity of the Hindu religion. The seer held that it was only because of that Ms Sonia Gandhi a Christian by birth-was ruling over 16 states in the country. Likewise, there had been three-Muslim presidents of the country and a Christian Mr K.R. Narayanan also adorned this august office, he said. Talking about the strength of the Hindu cultural heritage and its traditions, the seen maintained that both English and Mughal rule over India could not weaken it. He called upon the leadership of the country not to be dictated by any “foreign power and bow before it.”

He also ruled out that there were any differences among the four traditional peethas of the country which were established about 20,570 years ago.

Chandigarh, June 14
The Haryana Government today issued posting and transfer orders of nine IAS officers.

Mr A.N. Mathur, Chief Secretary, was given the additional charge of Principal Secretary, Home, Jails, Criminal Investigation and Administration of Justice Department during the leave period of Ms Promilla Issar.

Mr S.C. Jain, MD, Haryana State Minor Irrigation and Tubewell Corporation, was posted as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Faridabad in place of Mr Pushp Raj Singh who would be the Director and Joint Secretary, Primary Education.

Ms Jyoti Arora, awaiting posting, was posted as Director, Industries and Mines and Geology, relieving Ms Keshni Anand Arora of the charge. Mr M.K. Midha, Joint Secretary, Home-II Department, was given the additional charge of Home-I Department during the leave period of Mr G.S. Sorot.

Mr H.S. Dhankar, Director, Agriculture, was assigned the job of looking after the World Trade Organisation cell in addition to his present duties, relieving Mr Ashok Khemka of the charge. Mr Vineet Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Rewari, was posted as Director, Social Justice and Empowerment and Welfare of SC and BC, relieving Ms Dheera Khandelwal of the charge.

Mr Ashwani Maingi was posted as District Transport Officer, Fatehabad, in place of Mr Satbir Singh Kundu, who went as Zonal Administrator, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, Karnal, in place of Mr Maingi. Mr Ashwani Kumar was posted as Estate Officer, HUDA, Panchkula. Mr Sanjay Rai was posted as SDO(Civil), Kaithal in place of Mr Jagdeep Singh who had proceeded on leave.

Chandigarh, June 14
The Haryana Government has promoted 13 inspectors of police to the post of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) with immediate effect and has issued their posting orders against vacant as well as new posts.

Mr Ronki Ram and Mr Ram Sarup have been appointed as the DSP State Vigilance Bureau. Mr Rajinder Singh has been posted as the DSP, CID and Mr Samme Ram as the DSP, Haryana Armed Police, Madhuban.

Mr Sajjan Kumar has been posted as the DSP, Faridabad. Mr Tek Ram has been posted as the DSP, Fourth Batallion, Haryana Armed Police, Madhuban, Mr Arun Kumar goes as the DSP, Headquarters, GRP, Ambala and Mr Pardeep Singh as the DSP, CID and Mr Vikram Kapoor as the DSP, GRP, Faridabad.

Mr Phool Kumar has been posted as the DSP, Chief Minister’s Flying Squad and Mr Balbir Singh as the DSP, Fatehabad, Mr Naripjit Singh as the DSP, Panchkula, and Mr Raj Singh as the DSP, Haryana Armed Police,
Madhuban.

The government also cancelled the transfer orders of Mr Gurbachan Singh, DSP,
AEC, Kaithal, to Chief Minister’s Flying Squad.

Yamunanagar, June 14
Ms Gurmeet Kaur, District Country and Town Planning Officer, along with senior officials of Yamunanagar and a large police contingent began the anti-encroachment drive at Udham Nagar near the Chhachhrauli Road at Jagadhri today.

The District Country and Town Planning Department started demolishing the illegal constructions being carried out by factory owners. The factory owners alleged that they tried to show all valid documents to the officials concerned but they later carried out the demolition.

According to a press note released by the District Public Relation Department, five unauthorised factory sheds, two boundry walls, one labour quarter and a road constructed on the Jagadhri-Chhachhrauli road near Udhampur village, which had been constructed without getting agricultural land conversion certificate and in violation of the Controlled Area and Urban Area Act, were demolished, Ms Gurmeet Kaur said.

The District Country and Town Planning officer said the owners of these unauthorised constructions were time and again asked through legal notices to remove encroachments but they did not respond.

Rohtak, June 14
The state Executive Committee of the BJP, Haryana, will meet at Panchkula on June 28 and 29 to review the political situation in Haryana and chalk-out strategies to regain the ground lost by it due to the coalition dharma with the ruling INLD. The honeymoon with the INLD appears to be over and at the end of it the BJP finds itself pushed to a corner.

The state party chief, Mr Rattan Lal Kataria, will preside over the two-day meeting which will be attended among others by MPs and MLAs from Haryana, presidents and general secretaries of the district units and frontal organisations. Since the meeting will also consider organisational elections, the district election officers and their assistants have also been invited to attend the meeting.

The party is expected to finalise its strategy on the issues on which the traders, government employees and farmers have launched agitations. The party had already constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Mr Kishen Singh Sangwan, MP, to study the issues and submit its report to the state executive for a final decision. The traders are agitating against the implementation of the VAT system and the farmers demanding the release of their state president, Mr Ghasi Ram Nain.

The state government employees are up in arms against the policy of privatisation, liberalisation and retrenchment. The employees leaders allege that the government has not implemented the assurance given by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, on October 24, 2002, on the rehabilitation of the retrenched employees of the MITC.

The meeting will finalise dates for holding the election of the pradesh president and other office-bearers and members of the state executive. The elections of the pradesh unit are scheduled to be held by September end. The meeting will also consider reports of district units.

Fatehabad, June 14
The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) general secretary, Ms Brinda Karat, said today that the
targeting system of public distribution’ was a total failure and showed the bankruptcy of the
government. Ms Karat was here in connection with the AIDWA campaign on the food and public distribution system.

Talking to The Tribune at Bhirdana village in the district today, Ms Karat said the current food policy of the Government of India had put a huge burden on rural women. She said it was ironical that on one hand about 4 crore tonnes of wheat were lying in godowns of the government while on the other hand poor failed to get a square meal a day. She said the whole system of
targeting in PDS by classifying people as Above Poverty Line (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) was a farce and many poor people had been excluded from the BPL list. To substantiate her claim, she gave an example of a widow from the village who lived in a katcha house and used to receive Rs 200 per month as pension but the government records showed her as Above Poverty Line.

Ms Karat said the AIDWA had already conducted the survey in eight states and found a huge percentage of poor women had been excluded from the PDS. Ms Karat said she had visited poor families living in about 15 villages of Haryana and that the condition of the poor, particularly the landless labourers was deplorable.

She said the AIDWA had given a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and has also met the Food and Public Distribution Minister, Mr Sharad Yadav, in this regard and demanded the scrapping system in the PDS as it had proved to be a total failure.

Fatehabad, June 14
Two persons died after consuming spurious liquor at Ramsara village in the district today. Garsi Ram (60) and Sheokand (64) allegedly consumed liquor in their village together last evening. Their condition started deteriorating immediately. They were shifted to General Hospital at Bhattu Kalan last night from where they were referred to a private hospital. Both died in the hospital today. It is yet not known from where they purchased their liquor.

Chandigarh, June 14
The Haryana Public Service Commission today announced the results of the preliminary examination of the Haryana Civil Service (Executive Branch) and other allied services. The number of candidates who have qualified is 15 times the number of vacancies, an official press note said.

Tohana, June 14
The road blockade and dharna organised by activists of the BKU near Kanheri village in district continued for the fourth day on Saturday. The BKU is agitating for the unconditional release of BKU leader Ghasi Ram
Nain. The bus service from Tohana to Hisar is being diverted via Pirthala and Parta. Farmers gathered in the morning near the bus stop where a road has been blocked. The number of farmers sitting in the dharna dwindled by the afternoon.
OC

Ambala, June 14
A mutilated body of an unidentified youth was found lying near railway
track in Ambala City this morning. According to information, the
police suspected that the youth might have committed suicide by
jumping before the train. The body was sent to Civil Hospital for a
post-mortem. OC